Prep football notebook: QB Shirreffs comes up big for Jefferson in fourth quarter

Nicole Saavedra @_nicolesaavedra

Saturday

Nov 23, 2013 at 9:55 PM

A late-game adjustment at quarterback helped propel Jefferson to a 61-57 win over Heard County in the Class AA second round on Friday.

Quarterback Evan Shirreffs took over for T.J. Skelton, who'd spelled Shirreffs after he sustained an injury on his throwing hand in October, in the final minutes of the Dragons' (10-2) rainy victory in the second round of the Class AA state playoffs.

Jefferson coach Ben Hall had expected to run a two-quarterback system heading into the game, but rainy weather and strong offensive production led him to hold off on the switch until the Dragons' final possessions.

"We were moving the ball offensively and there was no need to change," Hall said. "It was raining from early in the second quarter on. We were in a position where we didn't feel like changing quarterbacks was the right answer at the time. We were down by 10 and decided we were going to throw it, put (Shirreffs) in and he executed well."

With Shirreffs at quarterback, Skelton shifted to his natural spot at wide receiver. With just more than a minute remaining and with the Dragons trailing, Shirreffs hit Skelton for a 9-yard touchdown. Skelton finished with three touchdown passes, a touchdown reception and a rushing score.

"It was a just a matter of who had the ball last," Hall said. "Neither team could stop the other."

Jefferson couldn't stop Heard County running back Duranta Dunson, who rushed for 490 yards and set a state record.

It was the first time Jefferson had given up more than 50 points since a 53-51 triple-overtime win over Fitzgerald in last season's state quarterfinals.

"It was a matter of containing and tackling," Hall said. "We didn't do that. They have a physical offensive line and a tremendous running back. It was all we could do to win the game."

Jefferson will visit Lamar County on Friday for the state quarterfinals.

But when the Eagles opened the second half with a costly shanked punt and an interception, they fell into a 27-3 hole and lost the momentum they'd gained.

"At halftime, I thought we were going to get the second half kickoff and I felt like we were going to win," Brooks said. "We were kind of clicking there on all cylinders and then once a good team jumps out 27-3, you have to play and finish with heads held up."

Eagle's Landing went on to win 41-3 over visiting Athens Christian (5-6) in the opening round of the Class A private playoffs.

Levi Cummings added another school record to his growing list of accolades and set the school record for career receiving yards. He also holds several other career records.

"Even though we got beat, played 44 kids, a lot of them coming back," Brooks said. "I felt like we finished on a good note. They only scored once on our young guys. I think we played really well except we didn't start the game really well."

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.